King Kong (2005)

Saw King Kong on Friday the way it should be seen; in Gold Class (With the film running just over three hours (187min) you want to be comfortable and have people bringing you food & drinks). The verdict? I didn't have as emotional a time as TJ evidently had, but I had a really good time with it. The final scenes gave me the worst vertigo though.

Fans of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films will spot his fingerprints; lots of swooping shots. I suspect that he got to play with his old sets and props too; some of the rocks the cast were climbing up & over looked strangely familiar.

See it on the big screen.

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Kong FUD: King or Bomb?

Fox News reported on King Kong opening takings, the story and a reference are posted to Metafilter and the crew goes a bit nuts (136 comments at the time of writing). Mkultra contributed:

I'm so glad that everyone is buying, hook line and sinker, into the right-wing media machine that desperately wants Kong to bomb and Narnia to be the big hit of the holiday season.

Is the Fox story the first shot of a FUD campaign to keep cinema-goers away from the big ape? Possible, yes. Plausible, yes; generating doubt about King Kong and other films competing with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe would be in line with Fox's political leanings and they'd hear no complaints from their target audience / support base who funded the first of the Narnia series. But one article does not a campaign make.

And if it is, is the MeFi post observational, or a rallying cry to get people to the cinema?

Here's my prediction; people will see King Kong because it's Peter Jackson's first film since The Lord of the Rings trilogy and people want to be awed again. Maybe they'll hear about how emotional it gets. People will go & see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because they read the Narnia books as a kid, because it's more big screen fantasy ala Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter that the whole family can see, and because it looks cool. The christian allegory angle will work for some, but I suspect it'll be the converted anyways.


[Tags: Film, King Kong, Metafilter]

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Dendy comes to Canberra

Prepare for coolness...

Press Release - For Immediate Circulation

DENDY CINEMAS AND ELECTRIC SHADOWS CINEMA COMBINE TO CREATE A NEW CINEMA VENUE IN CANBERRA CITY.

Electric Shadows Cinema will be working with the independent cinema group, Dendy Cinemas, to establish a new multi-screen cinema complex in the Section 84 development, on Bunda Street, Canberra City.

The cinema complex, expected to open late in 2006, will have 9 screens and will program a wide selection of "alternative" art-house films as well as the best of mainstream releases.

Dendy Cinemas operates the prestigious Opera Quays complex and the Dendy Newtown in Sydney, plus cinemas in Brisbane, Byron Bay and central Melbourne. Canberra will be a significant addition to their group.

Dendy also has a film distribution arm that has been responsible for many notable releases at Electric Shadows in recent years, including SUPER SIZE ME, THE WEEPING CAMEL, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, and the French film, LOOK AT ME.

Andrew Pike of Electric Shadows says "This is great news for film culture in Canberra. Electric Shadows has had a wonderful relationship with Canberra's audiences for more than 25 years. This new cinema complex will ensure that the city will have a world-class, high quality cinema to continue the tradition into the next generation."

The new cinema will marry Dendy's national reach and resources, and their commitment to quality and diverse cinema, to Electric Shadows' rich local tradition. The physical attractions of the new venue will include comfortable seating, a licensed bar, appropriate disabled access, substantial adjacent parking and a sophisticated interior decor.

In the meantime, Electric Shadows will continue as usual at its current venue.

[Tags: Cinema, Canberra, Australia]

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I coulda been a contender.

The American Film Institute has published their Top 100 movie quotes, chosen from 400 nominations.

Seeing as the top 10 are going to be published everywhere else, here's the middle 11:

45 Stella! Hey, Stella! A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 1951
46 Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. NOW, VOYAGER 1942
47 Shane. Shane. Come back! SHANE 1953
48 Well, nobody's perfect. SOME LIKE IT HOT 1959
49 It's alive! It's alive! FRANKENSTEIN 1931
50 Houston, we have a problem. APOLLO 13 1995
51 You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk? DIRTY HARRY 1971
52 You had me at "hello." JERRY MAGUIRE 1996
53 One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know. ANIMAL CRACKERS 1930
54 There's no crying in baseball! A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN 1992
55 La-dee-da, la-dee-da. ANNIE HALL 1977

[Tags: Film, Quotes, Culture]

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Nollywood

Who needs Hollywood when you've got your own thriving direct-to-DVD industry? Certainly not the people of Lagos, Nigeria.

[Tags: Film, Lagos, Nigeria]

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Review: Crash (2004)

Crash is an emotional rollercoaster on racial intolerance that should be on everybody's Must See list. It's beautifully shot, well written and superbly played. Unlike Lucas' plastic toy, Crash will make you feel. Just when you think you've got it figured out & begin to feel some sympathy for one of the brilliant ensemble cast, the track turns & loops back on itself. It's shocking, sad, infuriating, tender and - surprisingly - funny at times, all the way to the last line of dialogue as the camera cranes up into the sky.

Writer/director Paul Haggis (who also wrote Million Dollar Baby), had a great ensemble to work with. Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Keith David, Tony Danza, and Loretta Devine are all recognisable, even if you don't know them by name. They - and others - play a housewife and her District Attorney husband, a store owner, two police detectives who're also lovers, a television director and his wife, a locksmith, a couple of car-jackers, a rookie cop and a middle-aged Korean couple who all live in LA and whose lives - in Short Cuts style - intersect in ways you wouldn't expect.

This film deserves an audience, but one broader than the small amount of cinema-goers who're willing to challenge themselves. It should be seen because it's unpleasant and confronting. The domestic reaction to the Corby decision makes it all the more timely.

Crash
Rated: MA 15+
Running Time: 113 min.

Official Site
Margaret & David's Thoughts
Metacritic round-up

[Tags: Film, Crash, Racism, Racial Intolerance]

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'Movies Now' in Sydney

Loosely modelled on New York University’s legendary Movies 101 course which began more than 30 years ago, Movies Now gives film lovers a chance to see and discuss movies prior to their commercial release, in sessions led by film writer and critic, Andrew L. Urban, under the auspices of the University of Sydney’s Centre for Continuing Education, in the comfort and technical excellence of the Dendy Cinema in Newtown.

Almost makes you want to move to Sydney.

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